- Chester Zoo has announced the birth of three rock hyrax pups named Spud, Russ and Jackie, each weighing about 12 ounces.
- Hyraxes look like badgers but sit in the same evolutionary group as elephants, manatees and dugongs, with tusk-like front teeth and flattened, hoof-like nails.
- All three have been given a clean bill of health by the zoo’s veterinary staff, and are expected to reach about 8 pounds as adults.
Three rock hyrax pups born at a British zoo weigh about 12 ounces each, the same as a can of soda, and they belong to the same evolutionary group as elephants, manatees and dugongs.
Spud, Russ and Jackie were born to parents Maris and Albert in late summer at Chester Zoo, a nonprofit since 1934 that keeps 30,000 animals across more than 500 species, many of them endangered.
They are rock hyraxes, sometimes called rock rabbits or rock badgers, and both nicknames point in entirely the wrong direction.
“People are always surprised when we tell them that hyraxes are closely related to elephants,” zookeeper Megan Carpenter said. “They look completely different, but there are some clues to their unusual family history. Their long front teeth, for example, are a little bit like miniature elephant tusks, and their feet have some resemblance to elephant feet, with flattened hoof-like nails.”
In the wild, rock hyraxes live among rocky outcrops and cliffs across Africa and the Middle East, where their rounded shape and russet fur help them disappear into the stone.
Lyndon Howson, the zoo’s assistant team manager in visitor engagement, called the connection “a brilliant example of how misleading appearances can be when it comes to evolution.”
“It’s incredible to think these little animals are so closely related to elephants and manatees,” Howson said. “That’s what makes species like hyraxes so interesting – they challenge what we think we know about the natural world.”
Adult hyraxes spend hours wedged into corners and gripping steep rock faces, which is not how the three newcomers are spending their time.
“They are much more energetic than their parents and sometimes get the zoomies, darting about and testing their climbing and parkour skills,” Carpenter said.
Staff have taken to calling them the little chaos potatoes.
